Last Saturday we went to the post office to mail a package and after almost 2 years, I had the
best experience. Yes, you read that correctly. I will not go into the details of past experiences, but lets just say that going to the post office is confusing, nerve-wracking and disliked in a BIG way. I have yet to actually purchase a single stamp (francobolli) at the post office. Why? The answer is simply because the postal system functions as a bank as well. So many times the post are full of people who are paying bills, parking tickets or various transactions. The lines are long and to stand there for a sheet of stamps is just not worth it. Instead, you can purchase stamps at your local Tabaccheria (tobacconists) where they sell cigarette's, lottery tickets, bus tickets, stamps, where you can often pay some bills and includes a small bar.
Who were we kidding? The idea to go to the post on a Saturday was like entering a carnival. You knew there would be long lines, multiple circles of people from shoulder to shoulder and well...pure chaos. As we entered the street, there was no parking which is normal. Except...for the 1 single space in front, four steps from the door! M almost zipped past it, yet once I exclaimed "right here!" he did the quickest and best parallel parking job I've ever seen. I was proud. (Considering I've been known to be quite the parallel parker amongst my Portland friends when we were out & about on NW 23rd). :) We entered the post office and promptly took our number in line...and instead of waiting 20-40 people in front of us (no joke)...we only had to wait for 5 numbers. Woohoo! Maybe 10 minutes. Number called, we leaped up to the counter and met
the nicest and most helpful postal employee ever. I could not believe it. Stamp boom...stamp boom boom...stamp boom. (Italian's
love their official document stamps). We were done. Finito!
Then, this morning as I walking the dog, a vespa speeds quickly up and stopped right beside me. The polite postman asked me for directions :) He quickly thanked me as he sped off, unfortunately for him, I had no idea where to direct him in this particular situation. Seriously, did that just happen? yes, it did. I continue to be puzzled by all things poste related here in Italy.
